SHAKUR STEVENSON defended his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan.
The 27-year-old deservedly won all three fights (119-109, 118-110, 116-112) against the Armenian-born German, who never quite reached the level of his American opponent.
Stevenson, fighting at home at the Prudential Centre in Newark, opened the main event by spending much of the first six minutes assessing his latest opponent. There were some grumbles of dissatisfaction from fans in the third round, perhaps still irritated by having to sit out a disappointing fight from their main support. Then the home favourite began to land some edged blows that Harutyunyan could do little to counter.
Stevenson’s (22-0, 10 KOs) hand speed was a constant problem for Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs), who gradually began to get on his bike and move around the ring, hoping to jump into the action and catch Stevenson off guard.
While Stevenson is one of the most talented fighters in the sport, there’s no doubt he needs to do more in the ring to grab the attention of the crowd. And by the start of the final round, you could see some fans leaving the Prudential Centre, having had enough.
The champion will argue that his opponent never came to fight and needs a better dance partner to bring out the best in him. Someone like Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the obvious choice for a lightweight unification, but will the prize money believe Stevenson is worth his asking price?
Before his post-fight interview, Stevenson, who is reportedly soon to be a free agent, could be seen wearing a T-shirt that read, “Bob saves his son from getting his ass kicked,” a shot aimed at his Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and current IBF lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Stevenson then gave his verdict on the beaten Harutyunyan. “He’s trying to make sure he survives. He’s a good fighter, powerful, I wish he’d try a little harder to make the fight more enjoyable. I did everything I could to get him out of there.”
Asked if he was frustrated that he couldn’t get the job done in the distance, Stevenson said, “Yeah, I was. I need to trim the ring a little more. I’ll go back to the gym and work on trimming the ring.”
Reacting to the crowd’s booing, Stevenson believed it was directed at Harutyunyan, who was “not trying to start a fight.”
“I want to fight the best fighters in boxing,” the champion said. “That way you’ll see the best version of me when you put me in there with someone else who’s fighting and competing. That’s when you’ll bring out the best in me.”
PBC today announced the official title defense of WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis against Lamont Roach, which will take place on December 14 on Amazon Prime Video at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
On the event card, Davis vs. Roach has no word, but it has to be a good event to motivate fans to spend the $75.95 to order this event on PPV. If Premier Boxing champions take part in a joint film called David Benavidez vs. David Morrell, it will be a great added value.
Unsurprisingly, fan reaction to tonight’s Tank-Roach fight was almost entirely negative, with people labeling it “Garbage” and “Cherry Pickaxe.” Several fans are in favor of this match and seem to think Roach (25-1-1, 10 KO) will add value. The number of these fans is much larger, although compared to those who disregard the fight.
The fight was leaked a long time ago, but now it is official. The starting price for the PPV remains to be revealed. This is where the real backlash from the boxing community will arise and Tank Davis will be vilified.
If Premier Boxing Champions want to make people joyful, they will price the event at $20 or less to reflect the mismatch. This probably won’t happen. The likely price for the Tank-Roach event will be $75, and fans will have to take it or leave it.
It wouldn’t be a substantial deal for Tank Davis to pick another supple opponent if he’s faced quality opponents in his last fights or any of them in his 11-year career. Unfortunately, Tank was a bottom of the barrel opponent, improving his record and taking no risks in his career.
The upcoming pay-per-view fight between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jnr on December 14 in Houston will be their first professional fight, but it will be their third meeting overall.
“We previously competed twice in two close fights in the amateur category.” Roach said in an interview with Cigar Talk’s Naji Grampus. “Honestly, if you ask him, he’ll probably tell you that I’m one of his better opponents right now.”
These amateur fights took place in 2011, when both fighters were teenagers. Davis, born in November 1994, was 16 years venerable at the time, while Roach, born in August 1995, was approaching his 16th birthday. They are both now 29 years venerable. Davis holds the WBA lightweight title and Roach holds the WBA junior lightweight title.
Roach said they practiced sparring as kids.
Roach says footage that is on YouTube (upload date: May 2011) comes from the Junior Olympics regional championship. Roach is from the Washington, D.C. area and Davis is from Baltimore.
“They took a point from him and then they took a point from me that I didn’t think they should have,” Roach said. “We sent it to USA Boxing and they agreed to my general offer to go to nationals. It was like, “Okay, maybe this point should have been taken into consideration.” They put us on opposite sides of the bracket and we met in the national championship.
“He won a tough fight again. I don’t think he should have won. This wasn’t home cooking. It was like a point system. After the first round the score was 2-1. After the second round it was 5:3. I think he beat me by four points.
According to a report at the time on the DC Amateur Boxing bloga rematch took place in early August 2011 in the 125-pound weight class, with Davis winning by a score of 14-6.
“We made it to the championship for a reason,” Roach said. “One and two in the nation. It’s always been like this. We were always two of the best players around. He won the national Golden Gloves in 2012. I won the national Golden Gloves in 2013, when I was venerable enough to go. I was 17 years venerable. He turned professional before me. I think he stopped fighting in the amateur category before me. When he stopped, I continued doing my thing. I was number 1 in the country. We both have a history of being the best in our area. And now we have a history of being the best in the world. “
Given their long history and familiarity, Roach has seen how much Davis has improved since his days as an amateur.
“It’s definitely different. It’s definitely better. It is world class better. Like me,” Roach said. “He is a world-class player. There’s a reason he’s where he is. I’m his fan. This motherfucker can fight. I know what I’m capable of. I am one of them. So why not show it to the world? Why not show it to him? This is what we should do.”
One massive difference? A power that carried Davis to 30-0 with 28 knockouts.
“When we were kids, he wasn’t really like a devastating knockout puncher or anything like that,” Roach said. “People would think of me as more of a powerful amateur boxer than I do now, except for the people who are in the ring with me.”
Roach has a record of 25-1-1 (10 KOs). In June, he stopped Feargal McCrory in the eighth round.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk recommends that Dmitry Bivol “run away” from Artur Beterbiev, not let him punch and stay away from the ropes next Saturday in the undisputed featherlight heavyweight championship fight in Riyad.
Former WBC 175-pound champion Gvozdyk was the favorite going into his fight against Beterbiev five years ago on October 18, 2019, but was knocked out in the tenth round.
Gwozdyk was leading 87–83 and 86–85 on two judges’ scorecards, and the third one was 87–83 by the break in the tenth period. Gvozdyk showed that Beterbiev can be attacked for a long time, but his strength does not require much to turn the tide of the fight.
Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) is more mobile and has a better combination punch than Gvozdyk did back then, but he’s not as mighty and mighty in the uppercut. For this fight, Bivol must give up striking combinations because it would expose him to Beterbiev’s counterattack. It is like a shark that hunts its prey for food to reach it and wants to land.
“He is very shrewd, has good footwork and has a very good and precise jab,” said Oleksandr Gvozdyk Round eight of boxingspeaking about Dmitry Bivol. “They are two different styles of fighters. Beterbiev is a brawler; it is coming and it is inexorable. He is very mighty and also very shrewd. People underestimate his boxing skills.
“Yes, because of his style, he just comes in and blows everyone away,” Gvozdyk said when asked if people underestimate Beterbiev’s technical skills. People think that’s all he can do, but he can also box.
Beterbiev is mainly engaged in boxing, but his strength is so great that it results in knocking out opponents. He has massive hands and even his thrusts have power. Bivol will, of course, box and try to stay away from Beterbiev throughout the fight. It won’t be uncomplicated.
“He was an amateur world champion where you can’t really operate your power for everyone. There are a lot of technical guys there. You are narrow to three rounds,” Gwozdyk said.
“Of course you prepare to avoid his punches. You must not block near the ropes, because it becomes really risky there,” Gwozdyk said about Beterbiev. “When he starts throwing punches at you [guard]you still feel them, and it’s not uncomplicated to fight this guy.”
Bivol won’t let Beterbiev grab him by the ropes, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get hit strenuous in the middle of the ring. Beterbiev doesn’t need to trap his opponents to hit substantial shots. Many of his knockouts take place inside the ring.
“He knows how to fight guys like that,” Gvozdyk said about Beterbiev knowing how to deal with mobile fighters who operate footwork. So I think it will be a really challenging task for Bivol.
“It’s challenging [to prevent Beterbiev from trapping you against the ropes]. When you’re fighting this type of guy, you’re constantly revving your engine and it really burns you out. In addition to the technical and tactical part, to be able to fight Beterbiev, you need to take care of your fitness very well,” said Gvozdyk.
It will be challenging for Bivol to move the entire fight to escape Beterbiev, because he will catch him with compact punches. Even when Bivol turns to run away, he will be hit by arrows. Unlike other power-hitting players, Beterbiev doesn’t weigh himself down with his shots. Throws compact, powerful shots that deal high damage.
“Don’t let him hit you and take advantage of you [backside] challenging,” said Gvozdyk on what advice he has for Bivol in defeating Beterbiev. “Run away, because it’s not worth resisting the ropes against him,” Gwozdyk said.
This will require Bivol to emphasize landing single punches and jabs to prevent Beterbiev from constantly hitting him with his punches. Movement is vital to Bivol, but he won’t win a fight if he doesn’t stand and fight at times.
The judges will not automatically award rounds to Bivol based on three minutes of movement and zero punch scoring against Beterbiev. This works for some fighters when they play for the A team and compete in their hometowns, but Saturday’s competition in Riyad is neutral for both sides.
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